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Williamsport’s offense rolls in 42-34 win at home vs. Wilkes-Barre

By GARRETT CARR 6 min read

Tevin Williams dropped back to pass only to see his primary target on the play fall down. And when he turned his eyes towards the ensuing pass rush, he saw five Wilkes-Barre players within a step of him 10 yards in the backfield.

None of those five could do so much as lay a hand on the junior quarterback. Williams darted left and took the ball 20 yards up the sideline where he was once again boxed in by five more Wolf Pack defenders.

Those five didn't bring him to the turf, either.

Williams took his first touch of the game 43 yards for a touchdown in a see-it-to-believe-it run as the Millionaire offense went over 400 yards in three quarters, and held on after putting the reserves in up by four touchdowns en route to a 42-34 victory.

Williams, who has now totaled at least three touchdowns in every game he has played in this year, had four touchdowns to go along with 329 total yards and an interception on defense. Wilkes-Barre, like every defense the Millionaires have faced this year with a healthy Williams, simply had no answer.

"There are certain times he’ll miss something in a pass play, and you’re like, ‘What are you doing?’ But he has so much natural ability to make up for that mistake. That last touchdown was about as good of quarterbacking as I’ve seen him play,” Williamsport coach Kevin Brown said. “He went through four reads there, got back to the other side, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how he’ll ever get back over there,’ but he hit Trey (Damschroder) To me, I saw progress today here at quarterback. He missed a month with his (illness), so that was really his sixth game of the year. He’s growing, and I know I say this every week, but I’m glad he’s on my team.”

The play Brown was referring to was another play that displayed Williams’ athleticism. Just a few plays after a crucial defensive stop on fourth down deep in Williamsport territory, Williams dropped back, went through all of his progressions, tucked the ball and turned on the jets, going 55 yards, weaving in and out through the Wolverine defense for a touchdown run.

“Yeah, absolutely. First, I always have to give props to my O-line. We’ve been working on me staying in the pocket and not trying to use my legs as much because I’ve got the weapons around me, like Zion Hughes, Trey Damstroder, Jalen Lilly, Delante, and Kason Omer,” Williams said. “Just having those weapons around me makes it easier for me and the O-line, knowing that I don’t have to run as much and I’m able to rely on them, give them the ball and hope that they make big plays.”

"Coach called a play, and I came up to the line. I did my pre-snap reads. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t like any of the pre-snap reads. I didn’t think any of them were going to be wide open,” he continued. “So I dropped back, then I did my progressions, and I saw that one was open. Trey took the left linebacker with him on a crossing route, then the left side was wide open, so I just took off. Delantae (Haberstroh-Stotts) did a great job blocking, and I cut through the safety and scored.”

Williams added that he feels like he caught up to the speed of the game.

“Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I definitely caught up to the speed of the game, especially compared to the first half of the Berwick game. That was just iffy. Now everything’s just going with the flow, and we’re just looking like one of those Millionaire teams now,” Williams said.

Williams, once again, received plenty of help from a veteran offensive line that is gelling at the right time and a plethora of fantastic playmakers. He hooked up with Trey Damschroder on a catch-and-run on a fourth-and-5 play that saw Damschroder make multiple Wilkes-Barre defenders miss while he reversed field from the far sideline all the way outside of the opposite hash for a 37-yard touchdown to put Williamsport up 42-14 in the latter stages of the third quarter.

“I came off the crosser and didn’t feel anyone behind me. Tev threw a great ball, I broke a tackle, and then I just took it across the field," Damschroder said.

Damschroder scored at least one touchdown in nine of 10 regular-season contests.

Zion Hughes continued to excel too. Hughes, who filled in admirably for Williams during his absence due to illness in the middle of the season, had 140 total yards and scoring two second-quarter touchdowns to turn a 14-7 game into a 28-7 game at the half. Those two touchdowns gave Hughes 20 total touchdowns this year, one year after missing the entire season due to a torn ACL.

"It’s a blessing. It started all in the offseason. The coaches instilled crazy confidence in me. They knew what I was doing my sophomore year, and they knew I was going to be able to take it to the next level,” Hughes said. “Even the small things, like cutting down on weight, were just small things that helped propel me to this. It’s just a testament to my work. Everything is falling into place.”

Damschroder's touchdown seemed to have put the game away for Williamsport. But a Wilkes-Barre team playing for their season didn't throw in the towel down 42-14 with just over a quarter to play.

Williamsport took its starters out, and the Wolf Pack scored three straight touchdowns on the ground while stifling the Millionaire second-string offense. Khalil Smith cut the lead to 42-34 following the ensuing extra point with 2:10 to play in the game, and the Wolf Pack were able to recover the ensuing onside kick. But the Millionaire first-string defense returned to the field, and a tackle for loss by Damschroder followed by a sack by fellow senior Cordoza Minor helped seal the game for Williamsport.

The fact that it was a senior night win against the team that beat Williamsport in last year's District 2-4 Class 6A final last year made the victory even sweeter.

“It’s definitely been a long journey with me and my guys. We have a lot of seniors. We’ve been playing together since we started playing football, so it’s nice to get a win on senior night,” Damschroder said. “It’s been a great four years, and getting a little revenge on those guys, too, after the district final last year.”

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